The second match at the Copa America on Friday evening sees the pick of the matches in Group A being played out when the ousted hosts Argentina take on an experienced Uruguay in the match which might well settle the group.
Argentina have played a match in this tournament and got up and running with a draw while Uruguay start their campaign in this game so both teams will enter the match looking for their first win of the competition.
Argentina
I wouldn’t say it was the best performance in the world from Argentina in that opening match but I’ve seen worse. They will argue that the knack of this particular renewal of this tournament is to build up form and confidence and peak in the latter stages of the event and to an extent there is something in that, however Argentina have too much attacking power to allow themselves too much time to go through the gears.
The one issue I have had with Argentina heading into the competition was their defence and we didn’t really see anything in that opening game to suggest that they have made the necessary improvement in that department. That almost cost them fully against Chile but the longer they remain in the competition, if they don’t sort it out, you get the impression that it is something which will really find them out.
Uruguay
When you look down the squad that Uruguay have brought to this tournament there is no doubting the quality that is in it and as such anything shy of a semi-final spot would have to be considered a poor return for what they should be offering up. The one question mark they have about them is whether they are a little past their best in terms of their prime. A number of this squad has been around for more than a decade and are getting towards the end of their international careers.
They still have one of the best front twos in the competition and they have a back four that know each other well and what it lacks in pace it more than makes up for in experience. They will need to make sure that they defend well throughout the tournament and then if they can get their creative players on the ball for Suarez and Cavani to profit from they should be fine. Uruguay haven’t started World Cup qualifying too well which is another concern.
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Team News
Argentina might look to rotate their attacking players in this match with Sergio Aguero a player who will be looking to start. He might well do so in place of Nicolas Gonzalez should Lionel Scaloni choose to go down that route.
Edinson Cavani was serving a suspension in the recent World Cup qualifiers but he is back available for this opening match and should resume his long-term partnership up top with Luis Suarez. Diego Godin will continue to add to his impressive haul of caps.
Betting
I took both teams to score in the match between Argentina and Chile in the opening match in this group and that is the bet I am looking at again in this contest. I don’t think we’ll be in for a high scoring classic but both attacking units look better than the defensive ones at the current moment in time. That isn’t to say that Uruguay are terrible at the back. Their experienced defence is tough but there is enough trickery, legs and creativity in the Argentine attack to get the better of it.
I don’t like Argentina in the defensive areas and they are set to have a tough night defending against Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. You might argue they are getting no younger but neither were the Chile attack and yet they caused Argentina problems. It has been a long season but I still think is enough in the two offensive elements of this match for both teams to find the back of the net before the final whistle is blown.
Tips
Back Both teams to score for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Sky Bet
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